Perfect Pet
by Sango Hikari
Summary: Seigaku's tensai has a new obsession. Join Fuji in his search for the perfect pet.


Hello everyone! This is my first Tennis no Ouji-sama story, since I've just recently become addicted to the series. I hope you all enjoy it, and I'd appreciate any constructive criticism or comments you may have for me.

**Disclaimer:** I own Tennis no Ouji-sama! Fear me! -gets hit on the head with a racquet- Erm, or not…

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Ever since Fuji Syuusuke had seen some strange creature he thought was either a cat or a raccoon (or some lunch experiment gone wrong; he wasn't entirely sure) climbing up a tree in the school grounds, he had found himself thinking about how he wanted a pet of his own. On more than one occasion, he had seen Kaidoh playing with the cat/raccoon/lunch experiment in the form of dangling a cat toy or some plant he thought was a cat tail in its face. Kaidoh seemed to be amused by it at least; sometimes he even had one of his rare smiles on his face as he taunted the thing, only to have it disappear as he was bitten moments later. 

Oishi had told him that the creature, which Fuji had decided was a cat, belonged to Ryoma; Momoshiro, who happened to be nearby and was listening to their conversation, confirmed the fact. This somewhat surprised the tennis tensai, as Ryoma didn't seem the type to have a cat as a pet. Or any type of pet, for that matter. He had actually asked the freshman if the cat belonged to him (refraining from asking if the thing was indeed a cat). Fuji could have sworn Ryoma's lips curved into a small smirk as he answered with a "Hai, senpai." Fuji didn't ask any more questions about the cat after that.

It bothered him that he was thinking about the ball of fur so much. Sure, it didn't take up as much room in his thoughts as tennis did, but he still found himself wondering what kind of pet would be most suited for him. He even lay asleep one night determining what pets his teammates would be most likely to get: a snake for Kaidoh, a cat for Eiji.

The thing was, he just couldn't decide on a pet for himself. It was easier determining pets for his friends, since he saw them frequently and had a grasp on their personalities and such. With himself, however, he had many different animals he thought would fit with his…unique qualities. Take a hamster, for instance. They seemed sweet enough when in their cage, running in their wheel, sleeping on top of each other, or digging through the bedding that lined the bottom of their home. When taken away from their original surroundings or faced with certain challenges, however, they were subject to biting, scratching, or perhaps chewing on strands of your hair; whatever fit their mood at the time. Such was the same for Fuji, where he could become a completely different person while on the court.

Another possibility was a dog. They were very playful, chasing after balls in all directions or perhaps tugging on one end of a small rope while you held the other. Dogs were also obedient, willing to do whatever they could to help their friends. They could also be very ferocious when barking or biting at burglars, cats, people, leaves, or anything else that happened to move. Again, this could reflect Fuji's will to bite his opponent's head off at times, though he rarely showed any emotions through his always-present smile.

Or, perhaps, something different, like a rat. While rats generally had a bad reputation, the tensai knew that they were misjudged due to rumors, movies and such. Most may think of rats as dirty, mean creatures, when in reality they were very clean and hardly ever bit or inflicted harm upon anyone. In reality, it was the opposite with Fuji. Unless you knew exactly who he was, one could mistake him from a kind, happy-go-lucky person, the racquet he carried on his back used only for fun and games; there was no way anyone would think of him as an aggressive tennis player who actually enjoyed watching others suffer on the court.

Hmm…he was beginning to see a pattern in his analysis.

In any case, Fuji decided that the only way to solve his problem would be to go out and actually get a pet. He had already found out that asking Yuuta didn't help; his brother had only stared at him for a moment wondering if he had gone crazy. Fuji supposed one could come to that conclusion if they knew him well enough to know that he rarely obsessed over anything other than tennis, and if his mind was occupied with other thoughts, they were likely to make him an appointment with the local psychiatrist to figure out if he was going mental or something. Yeah, going out and getting the actual pet seemed to be the best solution.

And so, he decided to go out the next day in search of his perfect pet.

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"Are you sure you don't want to come, Yuuta?" Fuji asked into the phone. He was dressed in a light brown shirt with dark brown pants, all set for a day of pet shopping. Being the loving brother that he was, he was calling his brother for the third time that morning to make sure he absolutely, positively didn't want to go with him.

Yuuta sighed. "I told you, Aniki, I have practice today! You know Mizuki-san will be mad if I miss it." He resisted the urge to tell Fuji that even if he didn't have practice on that particular Sunday, there was no way in hell he would have gone shopping with him anyway.

"Mizuki-san sure trains you hard, doesn't he?" Fuji said, twirling the phone cord around his finger. "I suppose I'll just have to go without you, then. Unless you want me to wait until you come back…"

"N-no!" Yuuta yelled into the phone. "I-I'm sure it'll take awhile. Practice usually lasts a long—Gah!" There were sounds of random objects being thrown out of the way as Yuuta made his way around the kitchen. "Crap. Um, sorry, Aniki! If I don't get off the phone, my breakfast will probably set my house on fire." Fuji heard a _click_ as his brother hung up the phone, leaving him with just a dial tone. The elder of the brothers stared at the phone for a moment, head tilted slightly to the side, before shrugging and hanging up. Yuuta would somehow manage not to burn his house down…probably.

"I'm leaving, Nee-chan!" he called as he slipped on his shoes and headed out, taking a small map out of his pocked as he did so. He walked slowly to the bus stop, intently studying the crumpled piece of paper. Fuji had never been to a pet store before, and he figured the first thing he should know before he went was where they were located in the city.

He found one relatively close and only had to ride the bus for a few blocks that he really could have walked if he hadn't been feeling so lazy. He stepped in front of a building labeled "Perfect Pet" that had a few cages occupied by cats and dogs sitting in the window. A little bell chimed as he opened the door, letting everyone in the shop know that he had arrived.

"Welcome!" an employee said, giving him a large smile as he looked around the shop. There were reptiles on the right side of the building, small animals and birds in the back, and cats and dogs on the left. Fuji wondered who decided to put the cats and dogs together, since it really didn't make sense. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'm looking for a pet," Fuji replied, though he figured it was really quite obvious. "I'm just not sure what kind." The woman's smile seemed to get bigger, if it was possible. "Is this your first time here?" Fuji nodded. "Then I'll show you around and introduce you to some of the animals." The tensai followed her as she walked towards the cats and dogs, which were kept in cages in a clear room separated from the rest of the store by a see-through glass door.

"If you'd like, you can go inside and say hello to some of them," the employee was saying as Fuji's eyes swept across the room. The cats were kept on the left side while the dogs were kept on the right, a few empty cages in between to separate them. His gaze landed on a small orange kitten with an adorable look on its face. "Would it be alright if I took a look at the orange one?"

"Of course," The woman – who Fuji just noticed was wearing a name tag with the name 'Renge' written on it – opened the door and began fiddling with the keys for the cages. Pulling one out of the jumble, she stuck it into the lock and took the kitten out, handing it to Fuji. The bundle of fur mewed sweetly before biting his hand. Fuji stared at if for a moment before handing the kitten back to the employee. "I don't think it likes me very much."

"I'm terribly sorry," Renge said, taking the kitten back. "He was just recently brought in, so we don't really know how he interacts with people…" She put him back in his cage and locked the door. "Perhaps you'd like to see another cat? Or maybe a dog?" Fuji shook his head. "I don't know…can we try something smaller?"

"Sure. If you're looking for a small pet, we have reptiles, birds and rodents. Which would you like to see first?"

Fuji thought for a moment. "How about the birds?" he said after a moment. During his analysis of different pets that would suit him, he had completely forgotten about birds, so he figured it was only fair to look at them first.

The birds were in a separate room, just like the cats and dogs. Looking around, Fuji saw many different types: Lovebirds, Parakeets, Parrots, and many that he didn't know the name of. He also noticed that it was very loud in the room, with all the various birds making various noises. Some would call it singing, he supposed.

"Alright, you said you wanted small, right?" Renge asked, rummaging through her keys again as she spoke. Fuji nodded. "Are you looking for one or two?" He thought for a moment. "Just one," he replied as a parrot's loud squawk resonated throughout the small room. "And preferably somewhat quiet."

Renge smiled. "Well, I'm really no bird expert, so I can't guarantee you that it'll be completely silent, but I would recommend a dove," she said, gesturing to a cage with white and grey birds in them. Their heads perked up at the sudden attention, and they _cooed _to greet their guests. Fuji bent down to see into the cage, meeting the several pairs of beady eyes that were staring back at him. "Do they bite?"

Renge laughed. "I don't think I've ever seen a dove bite," she replied, finally finding the right key for the cage. "Would you like to see one?" Fuji nodded, and she unlocked the cage, gently grabbing a white dove from its perch. Renge softly put it down on the tensai's shoulder; it looked around for a moment before taking a strand of hair in its beak and yanking it from Fuji's head.

Fuji turned his head to look at the bird, which was happily munching on its prize. "I don't think anyone told it that my hair is attached to my head," he said, cupping it in his hand to give it back to the employee. Renge took the dove and put it back in its cage. "Well…it didn't bite you," she said as she locked the cage, silently hoping that Fuji wasn't planning on suing the pet store for abuse or something.

"No, it didn't," Fuji agreed, instinctively reaching a hand to where he was now missing a strand of hair. "But I happen to like my hair when it's attached to my head more than when it's not." Renge looked down at her hands sheepishly. "I suppose that means you don't want a bird anymore?"

Fuji's smile grew slightly as he shook his head. "No, I don't think so." His gaze traveled to the sign hanging a little ways away that read 'Small Animals'. "But that sign specifically says small animals. That sounds promising." Small animals, of course, pretty much meant rodents, which Fuji, unlike most people, had no problem with.

"Yes, you're right," Renge said, leading him towards the small animals. "We have many different kinds you can choose from, too. Mice, hamsters, gerbils…I'm sure we'll be able to find something that won't bite you or eat your hair."

Fuji began looking around. Most of them were sleeping, since, as Renge told him, rodents were nocturnal – they were awake at night instead of during the day. He looked briefly at the hamsters before mentally crossing them of his list of possible pets; hamsters, he knew, were prone to biting, and were also master escape artists. He would have considered getting a rat, but they were all sold out of small ones and only had adults. If he was going to get a pet, he wanted to get one that was young so it would live longer.

Fuji stopped in front of the mice. They looked like miniature rats and were all piled on top of each other in the corners of the cage. Intrigued, he asked to see one. The mouse, which was white with a black face, looked up at him for a moment before darting up his chest and down his shirt.

"Mice like to burrow," Renge explained. "And, well, that happens to be the only thing he can burrow in at the moment." Fuji nodded as he tried to find the small creature, which was running all over the place in the safety of his shirt. It took him a few minutes to finally catch him; he was _fast._ They put the mouse back in the cage.

As they were leaving to go see the reptiles, a larger cage caught his eye. "What are those?" he asked, pointing towards them. "Ah, those are ferrets," Renge answered as he went to get a closer look. "Despite what most people think, they're actually a part of the weasel family and not rodents at all. They love to play, and though they may nip occasionally, they don't really bite. They really do make great pets."

"You seem to know a lot about them," Fuji observed.

"Yes, well, I have one of my own," Renge replied. "Would you like to see one?" Fuji nodded, and she grabbed the smallest one from the bin and gave it to him. "This one's a girl," she explained as the ferret began to explore her new surroundings. She ran from her position on his shirt to his shoulder, then went on his head, where she decided was a good place to stay. Fuji smiled as her tail swished in his face. _Part of the weasel family, eh? Sounds good to me._

"I'll take her," he said. Renge smiled. "That's great!" She then proceeded to fill out the necessary paperwork, put the ferret in a small carrier, and told Fuji to go to the counter to pay for her.

On his way to the counter, he saw something out of the corner of his eye, and his smile widened.

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"Fuji, what is this?"

"It's a gecko, Tezuka," Fuji replied, his usual smile slightly bigger than normal. Tezuka glanced down at the fish tank in his hands. "I can see that, Fuji," he said, staring at the gecko that was inside. "What I'm asking is why you're giving it to me."

"I saw it at the pet store yesterday and thought he would fit you."

"And what, may I ask, were you doing at a pet store?"

"I was looking for a pet, of course," Fuji replied. "I ended up getting a ferret. I named her Mistu." He looked anxiously at his captain. "So? What do you think? Do you like him?" Tezuka chose not to answer; instead, he said, "It's almost time for practice," and began walking off.

"Where are you going, Tezuka?" Fuji asked innocently, noticing that Tezuka was walking away from the tennis courts. Tezuka didn't look back as he answered, "I'm going to bring him home. I can't just leave him here until practice is over." Fuji's smile grew as he went to change.

He knew Tezuka would like his gift.

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Fuji watched at Mitsu ran over his bed, playing with some toys he had bought at the pet store. He listened to the jingle of the balls he had bought, which the ferret was pushing around over his blue comforter. He let her run around for a bit longer before putting her back in her cage, realizing it was late and he had practice the next morning. The tensai got into bed and snuggled up under the covers before reaching over to his nightstand to turn the lamp off.

Next to Mitsu's cage, his journal lay open to a page with the day's date on it:

_I gave Tezuka his gecko today. I think he took it rather well, considering. He didn't even notice that I named Mitsu after him; his name is Kunimitsu, after all. I'll have to ask him what he named his new gecko tomorrow after practice. _

_After much debate, I've finally settled on what pets would fit all of the regulars. Well, except for Echizen, since he already has a cat. Oishi, Momoshiro and Inui were a bit hard, but I think I found which pets are most suited for them._

_Tezuka – gecko_

_Eiji – cat, nya_

_Kaidoh – snake_

_Momoshiro – rabbit_

_Oishi – mouse_

_Inui – gerbil_

_Kawamura – dog _


End file.
